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“This war didn’t have to happen – the most significant war in Europe since 1945, since the end of World War II,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Wednesday, listing two moves by President Joe Biden’s administration he says caused Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and two proposals of what Biden should do now.
“There were two specific mistakes made by the White House that caused this war,” Sen. Cruz said at a GOP press event:
“Number one: the disastrous retreat and surrender in Afghanistan that emboldened America’s enemies.
“Number two, tragically: the White House’s decision to waive sanctions on the Nord Stream II pipeline and to surrender to Putin, allowing him to complete that pipeline, which was the direct, precipitating cause of this invasion.”
“What should we be doing now? Two things,” Cruz said. The first, he said, is to reverse Pres. Biden’s veto of providing Ukraine’s most urgent need:
“Number one, the United States should be providing lethal military aid, far more than we are currently providing.
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“Most critically, we should be providing fighter jets. President Zelensky has said fighter jets are his top priority. It’s what he needs most.
“Poland has offered up the MIGs that the Ukrainian pilots know how to fly – and Joe Biden personally vetoed those MIGs going to Ukraine. President Biden should allow those MIGs to go to Ukraine today, not flown by American pilots. We should not put American service men and women in harm’s way.”
The second, Cruz said, is to remove a major source of income that Russian President Vladimir Putin is relying on to fund his war on Ukraine:
“And, secondly, we need to take away Putin’s revenue from oil and gas. Vladimir Putin is a petro-tyrant. This war is being fueled by his sales of oil and gas.”
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“Biden should unleash American production to step in and take European customers away. Our European allies should sign long-term contracts with American oil and gas producers or with our allies, and take that revenue away from Putin. Defund his war.”
“Biden, unfortunately, does not believe victory is possible,” Cruz said. “The Biden team is resigned to failure, to Putin’s winning.”
But, victory is possible, if Biden would just take those two actions, Cruz said:
“Putin can be defeated, but only if we stand with our Ukrainian allies, we provide them with the weapons they need to defend themselves, and we take away Putin’s revenue from oil and gas. That is the path to victory.”